hypnotic brass ensemble

Take a look here at the upcoming release schedule for Honest Jon’s, and if you’re anything like me you’ll have started setting funds usually allocated for food aside to get the whole lot. Candi Staton’s new record is out today which is always a cause for celebration, and the Marvellous Boy, “World Is Shaking” and the new Simone White releases all look like they’re going to be amazing.

And hopefully their release of a Hypnotic Brass Ensemble primer, featuring rerecorded versions of their self-released material, will bring the band to a wider audience over here. Me and Jen went to see them at the Rainbow in Birmingham last year, and after hilariously scorning the mostly white and middle class crowd for their immobility, they proved themselves to be one of the finest party bands out there; and backing various artists including Staton, White, Tony Allen, Toumani Diabete and Damon Albarn at the Barbican’s Honest Jon’s celebration last year, they showed a stunning sensitivity to arrangements. They’re all brothers (except the drummer) whose father played with Sun Ra, and they’re ridiculously good-looking and charismatic; Jen was drooling the whole time. The dexterity of the sousaphone player is insane, the trumpet soloing is heartstopping, and their overall tone is generous and warm.

After the Brum show, we frantically bought all three of their CDRs, with my old man managing to get his hands on two of them. But still in our possession is The Green Album, which has some of their best stuff on it. Balicky Bon is mournful yet optimistic, riding a head-nodding groove; Birthday is urgent and uptempo with a vaguely Puerto Rican feel and nagging melody; Paradise is the best of the lot, pure springtime romance.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Balicky Bon

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Birthday

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Paradise